Conners Advances to Final of U.S. Amateur Championship
8/16/2014 4:02:00 PM | Men's Golf
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Former Kent State golfer and Ontario native Corey Conners '14 has advanced to the final of the U.S. Amateur Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club.
Conners, who fell one match short of the U.S. Amateur championship match last year, defeated Denny McCarthy one up this afternoon on the Club's Highland Course. Conners won the first hole and never looked back. After back-to-back birdies at holes 11 and 12 to post a two-shot lead, McCarthy came back with a birdie on the 16th to cut Conners' lead to one.
"I talked to Corey last week when he just missed winning the Canadian Men's Amateur Championship for the second year in a row, and he said 'coach I just didn't get it done,' said Kent State Golf Coach Herb Page. "Now here he is with a chance to win the U.S. Amateur. That's why he is so good. He is so tough. He'll be disappointed one week, and then come back and do something like this the next. He is not afraid, and he has all of those characteristics that make you a champion. This is a continuation of what he is done throughout his career at Kent State and on the amateur scene."
Conners is the first Kent State player to reach the finals of the U.S. Amateur. Previous Golden Flashes reaching the semifinals include Eric Frishette, who lost to Tiger Woods in 1994, Ben Curtis in 1999 and Ryan Yip in 2006.
Conners is also the first Canadian to reach the finals since Gary Cowan won the title in 1971 at Wilmington Country Club. Cowan also won in 1966 at Merion Golf Club. The only other Canadian to reach the finals was George Lyon, who was the runner up in 1906 at Englewood Golf Club.
"This couldn't happen to a nicer person," added Page. "Guys like Ben Curtis, John Hahn and Corey, all of these kids who have been through our program who, they have all shown how hard work, determination and a lot of guts always pays off. Corey is so deserving. He is bright. He is tough. He is a champion."
Conners will not only advance to the finals tomorrow, but he also now qualifies to play in the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open. "This opens up a whole lot of opportunities for Corey, so I'm not sure if he will turn professional right away," said Page. "This is a decision he'll have to sit down and make with his family."
The 36-hole championship match is Sunday and is slated to start at 8:20 a.m.
